Friday Foster (1975)

41% of users liked it
(1,868 ratings)

A woman looking for adventure finds romance, excitement and danger in her viewfinder in this action-packed comedy-drama. Friday Foster (Pam Grier) is a beautiful and ambitious young photographer who is working as an assistant at Glance Magazine, edited by the hard-boiled Monk Riley (Julius Harris).… More A woman looking for adventure finds romance, excitement and danger in her viewfinder in this action-packed comedy-drama. Friday Foster (Pam Grier) is a beautiful and ambitious young photographer who is working as an assistant at Glance Magazine, edited by the hard-boiled Monk Riley (Julius Harris). When Riley can't get in touch with his first-call photographer, he calls Foster with a very important New Year's Eve assignment -- reclusive billionaire Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala), often called "the black Howard Hughes," is expected to be coming to Los Angeles, and Riley wants pictures of Tarr's arrival. But Foster gets more than she bargained for when Tarr is ambushed by a gang of assassins disguised as security guards. The next day, Foster is helping to shoot a fashion show introducing new creations from flamboyant designer Madame Rena (Eartha Kitt) when Clorils Boston (Rosalind Miles), a model who has known Friday since childhood, is stabled to death. Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto), a private detective who is on the scene, offers to help Friday track down Clorils' killer after she notices that the same mysterious man (Carl Weathers) was present at both crimes. Foster and Hawkins discover the two killings are connected by a plot hatched by an underground group called "Black Widow" to kill off powerful and influential African-Americans. But who is behind the conspiracy, and can they be stopped in time? Also starring Godfrey Cambridge, Paul Benjamin, Scatman Crothers and Ted Lange, Friday Foster was based on the comic strip by Jim Lawrence and Jorge Longeron; running from 1970 to 1974, it was the first syndicated strip with an African-American woman as the leading character. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Arthur Marks
Written By: Orville H. Hampton
Genres: Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1975 Wide
On DVD: Dec 26, 2001
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's all ridiculous but entertaining in an unsophisticated ogling way.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Great cast, underwhelming script, but worth a watch if you love Pam Grier!
Chris W

This later entry into the blaxploitation canon isn't really a bad film per se, it just doesn't really live up to its potential. This story of a fashion photographer getting caught up in a nutty mystery/conspiracy all because she ended up being in the right place but at… More
This later entry into the blaxploitation canon isn't really a bad film per se, it just doesn't really live up to its potential. This story of a fashion photographer getting caught up in a nutty mystery/conspiracy all because she ended up being in the right place but at the wrong time is entertainng, but it fails to be super engaging and rousing. It does have a slick look at a decent (but not really special) soundtrack, but the slickness takes away from any sort of rough or down and dirty atmosphere that made films like Coffy or Foxy Brown great. Incidentally, the lead from those films is also the lead here: the wonderful Pam Grier. This film escapes feminist critique by letting Greir have more control over her character and her actions, and it's an alright character and performance, but everything going on (with the characters, plot, etc) just feels tired. I don't mind the slickness, but the film also feels like something from tv. It has a flat look, which is odd since fashion and fashion photography are main focuses here. The cast is incredible: there's Grier, Eartha Kitt, Julius Harris, Scatman Crothers, Carl Weathers, and Yaphet Kotto. One of my favorites is Tierre Turner as Cleve. He's pretty damn funny. Too bad's he's only got a small role. I like that this film tried to be more dignified, but it is just underwhelming. The direction is competent, just uninspired. I did say it is entertaining, because it is, but it could have had some more action scenes. There's a few, and they're not bad, but there's plenty of down time. Now, some of that time is exposition and mystery solving, but the film still could have retained its slickness and dignity even with a few more chases or shoot outs. I was disappointed with this one, but it doesn't quite do enough stuff wrong to warrant the lower grades that others might give it. It's worth a look out of curiousity or for completists, but I think that really just the diehards are probably gonna get a lot out of it. So for the rest of you, seeing it won't kill you, but you might wish you'd spent your time doing something else instead.
Mason W

Friday Foster, starring Pam Grier from the 70's is a good watch. Pam Grier plays Friday a photographer whom gets caught up in murder and goes undercover. Another hit for Pam Grier who kicked butt in the 70's.
Michael G

Like most blaxploitation films, it's not very good but it's fun to watch from a novelty or nostalgic standpoint.